Financing HIV Programmes in 2014

As the Ministry of Health plans for 2014, officials say they have been focusing on the reality that international donor funds are drying up.

National AIDS Programme Coordinator, Gardenia Destang-Richardson says while outside financing has been cut back, they have taken steps to keep national programmes going.

“Even though the money will be dried up, we’ll still continue to do as much as we can do because our programmes are going to be integrated into normal health service, normal primary health care etc.”

With this in mind, Destang-Richardson says, “It doesn’t mean that persons will no longer be able to get treatment and it doesn’t mean that we will stop doing what we’re doing. It just means that we’ll look at strategically how we’ll address the things that we need to do.”

Richardson is expected to attend a regional meeting looking at alternative sources of funding for HIV/AIDS programmes throughout the Caribbean.